How can I get better

[KB74]

Hey everyone, so I've been playing ACC for 47 minutes and I like the concept of the game, and how it's about endurance, etc. but I've been frustrated recently. I need help on how to get better. I have 44 hours on Assetto Corsa (the original) and I mainly played some sports cars, and some GT3's at times and I've had a lot of fun.

And then came ACC and I was like this is going to be awesome! So after some time that it launched, I got it on a discount and I played it. It was all fun until I started braking using the braking line perfectly and I would still fly off the track, and trying to turn around corner just won't help. Not to mention how throttle always makes me spin. For some background, I do have Traction Control on and I am on beginner settings and I am still frustrated and I continue to crash. All in all i'm not having much fun in the game as I hoped, and rather i'm just getting mad and sad.

I would really like some help, maybe on how to get better, and some strategies to use when driving so I could also get better. Please don't say "just git gud", this game is really hard for me and I would appreciate some help from you pros. Thanks again.

[ling.speed]

Originally posted by Mysterious18c:

So should 550 be a good lock?
I mean I don't know how to improve that much, maybe tomorrow when I race, I will record my fastest lap and maybe you could show me where to improve but thanks for the feedback :D

550 should be ok, but if you had 900 set in game it will likely have no difference.
Because game will try to automatically get you to 1:1 steering as long as the wheel physically can have enough rotation. In practice most people leave it at 900 and if needed tweak steering ratio in car setup.

Video/rep would be great, just make sure to do it in cockpit mode with wheel and pedal inputs shown.

[d[-_-]b]

It sounds like you're expectation is to be #1 within a few hours of buying the "game".

It doesn't work like that. You have an expectation management problem.

What are your expectations based on buying ACC?

Forget times.
Forget racing.

Learn the tracks, and learn how to drive.
Take your time to do it properly through thoughtful applied learning and the speed will come.
Racing is a process (driving) more than the outcome (scores), but if you don't nail the process of driving you'll never get the scores consistently.

[KB74]

Originally posted by Sgt Stedenko:

It sounds like you're expectation is to be #1 within a few hours of buying the "game".

It doesn't work like that. You have an expectation management problem.

What are your expectations based on buying ACC?

Forget times.
Forget racing.

Learn the tracks, and learn how to drive.
Take your time to do it properly through thoughtful applied learning and the speed will come.
Racing is a process (driving) more than the outcome (scores), but if you don't nail the process of driving you'll never get the scores consistently.

No I dont have expectations to be number one. I'm trying to play and have fun. I just dont understand how to memorize braking zones. Do I need to turn off the racing line and learn?

[d[-_-]b]

>>I'm trying to play and have fun.

You might have the wrong game. This is a simulator, not an arcade game. As such, there's a significant learning curve if you are not familiar with simulators. You might be more suited to something on the arcade game spectrum. Otherwise, knuckle under and prepare to do some work. In order to have fun on a simulator, you need to be able to drive at a high level and that takes some work and dedication (especially with a gamepad, which I use).
If you enjoy the process of learning and getting better, than you can have fun as you progress (even when it gets frustrating till you level up).

See https://virtualracingschool.com/academy/iracing-career-guide/before-you-get-started/arcade-vs-simcade-vs-simulators/ for the differences.

There's more to it than individual things like "how to memorise braking zones", which are dynamic anyway because of variables such as you, car, weather, track conditions etc

This is as good a guide to a process as any, but there's others if you do some research:
https://www.amazon.com/Going-Nowhere-Assetto-Corsa-2018-01-20-ebook/dp/B00NS918M4 (yes, it's AC but the core principles are transferable to any simulator)


ACC has an inbuilt rating system you should be using to improve as well.
This video is a little old now but explains most of it, with tips on how to use them best for training: https://youtu.be/lDKpMOMPTOc

For some ACC specific advice, here's some from one of Kunos's resident alien developers:

 So I'll try to strip down my observations and guesstimates in addition to @CrimsonEminence :

1) Separate training from racing laps
2) If you decide to train = improve yourself, chose a Hotlap session (for now) and drive conventionally until you have one halfway decent lap like you did before (that would be a 2:00 at Nurb)
3) Training mode: Ignore laptimes at all. Focus on a reference point for each braking
4) Braking: Straight line only, release all the pedals, turn in and coast to the apex. No throttle allowed, if you are *way* too slow - brake a few meters later next time. Still no throttle, just go slower until the transition point
5) Find the transition point where you start to accelerate again. How you do that depends on the corner (though Porsche is like almost slam it, tons of traction)


Repeat this until you feel confident with your brake references, which should directly reflect in a CN rating going above 85-90.
Most likely you have found your delta going green big times for many straights now, and most likely you already hit or even beat your former 2:00 minute laptime. If so, welcome to your comfort pace, this is what you should do instead of trying hard.

The next part is to improve the CC value WITHOUT violating your comfort pace, which means you still drive in a relaxed way where the brake reference controls everything.
Your CC charts display you both have low push and high overdrive, which means you a) lose time by not using the car, and b) over-drive the tyres (and/or steer too much). b) should have gone close to zero when going comfort pace, keep it there. The rest is just to adjust your braking in a way you aren't super slow while coasting towards the apex, that's basically all.

This won't get you below 1:56s, but build the foundations needed to add more technique to get there.

Edit: And in case we see another video, please use the cockpit view so we can see the steering; in the best case it also has pedal inputs in the UI

From <https://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/request-from-a-developer-a-i.60970/>

Good luck!

[ling.speed]

Originally posted by Mysterious18c:

I just dont understand how to memorize braking zones. Do I need to turn off the racing line and learn?

Wha it'd try is to run with racing line turned ON and look around you when the line turns red. Note whatever interesting things are around like distance boards, marshall spots, outside kerbs starting etc. Then turn the racing line OFF, and brake at these spots.

After that it's time to tune these points, pick one corner and lap after laptry braking earlier or later, until you find the latest point that lets you still reach the apex kerbs of the corner while not letting go of the brake pedal till the coasting phase mid corner.

The more corners you tune that way the less time it will take next time around, so don't worry if it feels "slow" to improve that way. All this is like learning to ride a bicycle, with virtual racing like being training wheels, you never have proper fun when driving with them but you can't just drop them at the start either.

[EF_Neo1st]

Originally posted by Mysterious18c:

No I dont have expectations to be number one. I'm trying to play and have fun. I just dont understand how to memorize braking zones. Do I need to turn off the racing line and learn?

In that case, make a video and show, so others can try to help as they will see how you are driving.
Also, you can always try Youtube to see a WR (or close to WR) lap for track and car combination.
When you do that, dont just pay attention to the guy racing line and brake points, but also to his throttle and brake use, also to his steering wheel use.

You can try to learn with real life professionals (or even with Youtube videos of ACC), where you can try to learn from these guys, also check professional videos (real life pros) showing how they drive, showing their tips, and try to learn.
But remember, you may get some stuff wrong or just use it wrong, watching a real life pro, or an ACC WR and memoryzing everythinig dont mean you have the skills and understanding to replicate, sometimes if you understand it wrong it may do more bad than good for your driving behavior and skills).
These guys dont just "memoryzed everything", they really know what they are doing, also they know how to adapt on the fly in case of tires conditions, track temperature, etc.

I could say things about how I learned, how I improved from suffering behind last car on lower difficulty AI to beating easy 90% AI . . . but the fact is, I am still learning, have a long way to go and I myself dont put so much practice into it (but when I do, I always try my best, to improve or to put what I learned to test to do better lap times or at race).

Also . . .
A simulator requires a lot of practice and study just to be somewhere near the "average driver" and even more to be better than that.
The WR guys (AKA Aliens) are not there in 47 min, neither in 47 hours . . . they are there, practicing from 6h to 12h or more everyday (basically, for some it is wake-practice-eat-practice-sleep), for months to years, and they are always improving and keeping their practice and skills sharp and always practicing the best driving skills and behavior with aim to be faster. Driving fast is not an easy task or something someone can do by just doing.

So, "driving just to have fun" may work . . if you dont care about not being fast.
The "Git Gud" is real and the game demands it, much like at any souls-game (where the Git Gud meme comes from), if you dont git gud, you wont move on through and you will just gonna git gud . . with practice.

Also, remember, the less assistance you use the faster you can be (but more prone for mistakes too).

Consider each time you get stuck at a lap time like a challenge, and to overtake it you need to learn better what you already know OR you need to learn different things, change your driving behavior and techniques to improve.
Always try to keep an open mind and remember you are only learning, trying to get better and learn, from others and from your own mistakes.

Read more, watch more and try to understand more.
Also keep in mind that if you stop practicing for some days you may lose some "shape" on your skills, if you stop for some weeks or months, even more . . . a sim demands it from you and you will notice right away how slower you will be after you stop practicing.

Try to be fast, try to be consistent with your lap times and try to be as smooth as possible while being as aggressive as needed.

Unless you do WR after WR everywhere and consistently, you always have something new to learn and improve.

[KB74]

Originally posted by Sgt Stedenko:

>>I'm trying to play and have fun.

You might have the wrong game. This is a simulator, not an arcade game. As such, there's a significant learning curve if you are not familiar with simulators. You might be more suited to something on the arcade game spectrum. Otherwise, knuckle under and prepare to do some work. In order to have fun on a simulator, you need to be able to drive at a high level and that takes some work and dedication (especially with a gamepad, which I use).
If you enjoy the process of learning and getting better, than you can have fun as you progress (even when it gets frustrating till you level up).

See https://virtualracingschool.com/academy/iracing-career-guide/before-you-get-started/arcade-vs-simcade-vs-simulators/ for the differences.

There's more to it than individual things like "how to memorise braking zones", which are dynamic anyway because of variables such as you, car, weather, track conditions etc

This is as good a guide to a process as any, but there's others if you do some research:
https://www.amazon.com/Going-Nowhere-Assetto-Corsa-2018-01-20-ebook/dp/B00NS918M4 (yes, it's AC but the core principles are transferable to any simulator)


ACC has an inbuilt rating system you should be using to improve as well.
This video is a little old now but explains most of it, with tips on how to use them best for training: https://youtu.be/lDKpMOMPTOc

For some ACC specific advice, here's some from one of Kunos's resident alien developers:

 So I'll try to strip down my observations and guesstimates in addition to @CrimsonEminence :

1) Separate training from racing laps
2) If you decide to train = improve yourself, chose a Hotlap session (for now) and drive conventionally until you have one halfway decent lap like you did before (that would be a 2:00 at Nurb)
3) Training mode: Ignore laptimes at all. Focus on a reference point for each braking
4) Braking: Straight line only, release all the pedals, turn in and coast to the apex. No throttle allowed, if you are *way* too slow - brake a few meters later next time. Still no throttle, just go slower until the transition point
5) Find the transition point where you start to accelerate again. How you do that depends on the corner (though Porsche is like almost slam it, tons of traction)


Repeat this until you feel confident with your brake references, which should directly reflect in a CN rating going above 85-90.
Most likely you have found your delta going green big times for many straights now, and most likely you already hit or even beat your former 2:00 minute laptime. If so, welcome to your comfort pace, this is what you should do instead of trying hard.

The next part is to improve the CC value WITHOUT violating your comfort pace, which means you still drive in a relaxed way where the brake reference controls everything.
Your CC charts display you both have low push and high overdrive, which means you a) lose time by not using the car, and b) over-drive the tyres (and/or steer too much). b) should have gone close to zero when going comfort pace, keep it there. The rest is just to adjust your braking in a way you aren't super slow while coasting towards the apex, that's basically all.

This won't get you below 1:56s, but build the foundations needed to add more technique to get there.

Edit: And in case we see another video, please use the cockpit view so we can see the steering; in the best case it also has pedal inputs in the UI

From <https://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/request-from-a-developer-a-i.60970/>

Good luck!

Alright thanks for the advice. It will take me a long time but lots of racing/practicing should help me out :)
I didn't really mean having fun, I meant i'm just trying to learn the game for now, and do things simply and learn to then begin getting better and stuff.

[Mr Deap]

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

The "Git Gud" is real and the game demands it,

That's not skill, especially in kunos game. You probably heard it many times in the past, it will probably tick your ego, but that's about right.

[Zerro_G]

Would it be better to just take the training wheels off and drive without aids? Would removing the aids make you learn to drive using your own abilities? Would it be better to start with safe settings? Learn, make mistakes, get better, and eventually advance to more aggressive settings?

I have a friend who never drives without all the aids turned on. He has been doing this for years and he never improves as a result of being totally addicted to the driving aids.

I believe it is better to let all the aids go.

[d[-_-]b]

Originally posted by Mr Deap:

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

The "Git Gud" is real and the game demands it,

That's not skill, especially in kunos game. You probably heard it many times in the past, it will probably tick your ego, but that's about right.

Please stop. He doesn't need to hear your rants about Kunos and the Tao of Brake Fizziks according to Mr Deap.

[Hiigara]

Grab a car (dont switch the car anymore), choose a circuit and do 200 laps during practice.

[d[-_-]b]

Originally posted by Hiigara:

Grab a car (dont switch the car anymore), choose a circuit and do 200 laps during practice.

Doing something repetitively won't necessarily result in performance gains or learning.
Someone doing 20 laps (10x less) with a focused practice plan to use the time effectively could easily achieve 10x more learning than someone just doing unfocused hotlap after hotlap with no real learning plan or practice session goal in mind other than "must do moar to git gud".

[Mr Deap]

Originally posted by Sgt Stedenko:

Originally posted by Mr Deap:

That's not skill, especially in kunos game. You probably heard it many times in the past, it will probably tick your ego, but that's about right.

Please stop. He doesn't need to hear your rants about Kunos and the Tao of Brake Fizziks according to Mr Deap.

It's that bad habit that doesn't translate well to the real world that separate the fast guy from the slow one.

I don't understand why you guys are still in denial. It will eventually blow up & you get roasted for it. The game even ask you to insert your real name... If it were me... I would go hide into a mountain.

[Jacobs]

Originally posted by Zerro_G:

Would it be better to just take the training wheels off and drive without aids? Would removing the aids make you learn to drive using your own abilities? Would it be better to start with safe settings? Learn, make mistakes, get better, and eventually advance to more aggressive settings?

I have a friend who never drives without all the aids turned on. He has been doing this for years and he never improves as a result of being totally addicted to the driving aids.

I believe it is better to let all the aids go.

I think the same. Before ACC i've had maybe around 20h of driving in AC. Never used any aids that aren't used in real life series. Sure it was super hard and unforgiving at first and i ended up on the grass many times but for me it was so rewarding to see - "oh, i can finally put together few laps without crashing or spinning", "oh, i'm like 2 seconds faster than i was 20h of driving ago and i'm much more consistent and safe around the cars" so i just skipped the part of getting used to driving without aids. Simracing is so rewarding when you get better just from your experiences and when you start to notice more and more nuances of driving on the track.

IMO the "hard way" of learning gives the results and makes you aware of many things much quicker.

[TastyCrayon]

"Slow is fast" is a popular saying to troll people in sim racing, because trail braking is arcade."

No. Slow is fast means you keep your lap times consistently through a race. A driver that has a few seconds slower laptime than the fastest driver will still win if the fastest driver isn't consistent (throwing the car on the grass, spinning, having to pit a lot). Making the slower driver faster... over a full race.

tl;dr - You can't win a race in qualifying. You still gotta complete the race.